We are preparing to go on a journey.
Make yourself comfortable in your bed.
Lay your body flat on your back with your legs out straight.
If your legs and lower back need more support,
Roll a small blanket or towel and place it under your knees.
You feel warm under the covers.
Take a breath and fill your belly with air.
Now let the breath escape through your nose.
Again,
Fill the belly like a balloon.
When the balloon is full,
Slowly release the air.
Just let it go.
Now,
Look up to the ceiling and imagine there's a giant wad of bubble gum.
What color is it?
Breathe in and reach and stretch your arms to grab onto the gum.
With an exhale,
Use all your might to pull it to your chest.
Release your muscles.
Take a deep breath.
And again,
Reach and pull.
Now relax your fists and your arms.
Take a deep breath.
There's still more bubble gum on the ceiling.
Reach toward the right corner of your room.
Grab hold of the bubble gum and pull with all your strength.
When we make a muscle and then relax,
We're slowing our body down for rest.
One more time.
This time,
Reach to the left.
Inhale.
Grab hold and pull.
By tightening the muscles and releasing them,
You are beginning to slow the body down.
Let your muscles become soft.
Tuck your arms beneath the covers and let the palms of your hands lay facing up toward the ceiling.
Just let them sink into the bed.
Make your neck comfortable on your pillow.
Not too high.
Not too low.
Continue to breathe and think about your gifts.
These are the things that show the good in you.
What makes you a good person?
What makes you the child you are?
These gifts are not seen on the outside.
They don't come in packages tied with ribbons.
They are inner gifts.
Something you feel or know that makes you special.
You might know that you are a good sister or son or daughter.
Maybe you are patient or generous.
Picture your special gift in your mind and say it to yourself three times.
You might say,
I am generous.
I am generous.
I am generous.
Say it now and listen to the words as you talk to yourself.
Remember your words.
Remember your gifts.
Take these good thoughts with you on your journey.
Now bring your attention to your body.
Watch your body as it begins to relax in the bed.
Feel your arms lying alongside you.
Think about the thumb on your right hand.
Notice how it feels.
Now the pointer finger.
The middle finger.
The ring finger.
And your pinky on the right hand.
Your attention moves to your wrist.
And forearm.
Now the right elbow.
Upper arm.
And underarm.
Now feel your waist.
And hip.
Notice your upper leg.
Knee.
And right lower leg.
The shin.
And the ankle.
Think about your right big toe.
And all the little toes.
Feel all the little toes together.
Now shift your attention to your other foot.
The other side,
The left side of your body.
And notice how your thumb feels.
The pointer finger.
Your left middle finger.
Ring finger.
And left pinky finger.
Your wrist.
And forearm.
Now the elbow.
Upper arm.
And underarm on the left side.
And move your awareness down to your waist.
Feel your left hip.
Leg.
Knee.
Your shin.
And the ankle.
Finally,
Feel your left big toe.
And all the little toes.
Again,
Feel all the little toes together.
Now think about how your head feels.
Can you make it feel heavier?
As you let it sink back into your pillow?
Tell your eyelids to stay softly closed.
And soften the place between your eyes.
Swallow once.
And relax your jaw.
Letting your mouth open if it wants.
Feel your cheeks.
Now your nose.
And your ears.
Bring your attention to the top of your head.
And let a soft feeling move across your hair to your neck.
Your spine is like a train track unrolling onto the mattress.
Feel the bones in your back as they settle deeply into the bed.
First behind your belly.
Then behind your heart.
Your whole body sinking from your feet to your head.
Let us begin our journey.
Imagine that your belly is a balloon.
What color is your balloon?
Red?
Green?
Blue?
As you breathe in,
Your balloon grows bigger.
And then grows smaller as you breathe out.
Again,
Breathing in,
Your balloon slowly grows and then shrinks when you breathe out.
Watch it grow and shrink as you breathe in and out.
See how the color of your balloon changes as it gets bigger.
Growing lighter and lighter.
Then the color grows darker as you let the air out.
And the balloon grows smaller.
Lighter as you breathe in.
Darker as you breathe out.
Inhale and the balloon appears to be thinner.
You can even see through it.
Exhale and the balloon appears thicker.
With each breath in,
Thinner.
And as you breathe out,
Thicker.
Thinner.
Thicker.
Notice how the body seems to lift when you inhale.
It feels lighter.
With the exhale,
You sink back into the bed.
Again,
You feel heavy.
Breathing in,
You feel lighter.
And breathing out,
Heavier.
Continue breathing.
Lighter.
Heavier.
Imagine that you now let the balloon rise up and separate from your body.
You are relaxed on your bed as you watch the balloon lift up into the air.
Become aware of how high or low it flies.
It may be far away or close by.
The sun shines on your balloon and its color is brighter than you remember.
Watch your balloon as it floats through the sky.
Your breath is like a gentle wind.
When you breathe in,
It floats the balloon up high.
When you breathe out,
It settles back toward the ground.
That soft wind keeps your balloon lifting and lowering.
Just like your belly as it lifts and lowers.
As the balloon moves,
Follow it with your eyes.
Go with it.
Let it carry you softly on its path.
Breathe in and out.
In and out.
Feel the soft,
Warm breeze push the balloon along.
You look down and as you lift higher,
Everything seems smaller.
Down below,
You see a slow moving river,
A hillside path,
And hikers the size of ants.
There are neighborhoods and playgrounds.
Everything becomes larger as the balloon dips down closer to the ground.
Notice the shapes of the rooftops below.
Rectangular and square.
See the children chasing each other,
Swings lifting up and back.
Now,
Slowly,
You float back to your room,
Landing softly on your bed.
It feels good to be home with your head on the pillow.
Remember the gifts you thought of when we began?
All those things that make you a good person.
Feel the warmth that that memory brings.
You can stay here as long as you like,
Thinking about everything you just experienced.
You are happy.
